Igniting mechanism for explosive and internal-combustion engines.



No. 665,037. Patented 1an. l, |901,

L. B. srgly'sen. IGNITING MECHANISM FOR EXPLSIV INTERNL CUMBUSTIN ENGINES.

(Application niedsbe. s, 189s.; (No Model.) Sheets-Shaet ggg-ummm ATTORNEYS Patntd Ian. I, ISJUI.- l.. smi/SEH. y i SGNITING MECHANISM FDR EXPLSIVE AND INTERNALCUMBUSTIN ENGINES, (Application led Sept. lB, 1898.) (Nn Model.)

4 Sheets-Shet 2.

ATTORNEYS No. 665,037. f Patented 1an. l, |901. f L. B. sMYsER. Y 'fffvlIGNITINGI MECHANIS'M FOR EXPLOSIVE AND liNTEf'NAL OMBUSTIDNv ENGINES.

(Appucmp ma sept. s, 189s.)

- (No Model.) Y 'Y -4fsheets-sneef s.,

vwnNEssfEs: INVENTOR l "f HJW No. 665,037. Patented 1an. l, |90I.

L. B swslars IGNITINGVM'ECHANISVM FUR EXPLSIVE'AND'INTEBNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

i (Application led Sept. 8, 1888. (No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

LOUISE. SMYSER, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, ASSGNOR TO FliZRl'lll/XNI)v E. oANoA, or NEW YORK, N. Y. y

lGNiTlNG MECHANISM FOli EXPLOSll/E AND INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGIN'ES.

SPECIFIOATIN forming pari; of Letters Patent No. 665,087, dated J anual-y1, 1901.

I Application led September 8,1898. Serial No.` 690,530. 'llonmd'el i To @illu/kom, in liz-Ly concern,.-

be it known that l, LOUIS B. SMYSER, a citizen of the United States, residing atEliz'abetli, in the county-oi' Union and State of New Jer- 5 sey,iieve in vented certain new and useful lmproveinenie in gniting Mechanism for Gas, Gil, and other Explosive' and internal-Combustion Engines; and i doV hereby declare the following to he e f nii, clear, and exact descripro tion of-ti .e inventifm, erich 'as willennble others skilled in the art to which it apperta'ins to make and' use the same.

My invention relaies to improvements in' igniting' mechanism-foi* gas, oil, and other ex I5 plosive and intermal-combustion. engines; and it ooneietein the novel meansemployed-for operating the igniters of a mnltiple-cylinderengine from a single operating device.

The objectejof'my invention. rare, first, to zo which the igniters of a multiple-cylinder gasengine may all be operated ny a single operati-ng device having a small amplitude of movement; second, to provide improved z5 means; for operating 'the contact-points ofthe igniters, and, third, to snake the mechanism Simple, compact, dnrabie, vnot liable to de` rangement, eaailyaseemhled and taken apart,

and comparatively inexpensive 'Fliese ob-y jects are attained in the invention herein described and illustrated in the draiiings which accompany and form a part ofthis ei'iecifioa` tien, in which the saine reference-nnmerale indicate thesarne oncorresponding ports, and 35 in which.

Figure l is a A,eide.elevation of` a multiplecylinder engine of 'the explosive type provided with my ignitiniY device. Fig. 2 jean end elevation of Lli'engine. Fig. 3 is a longitudinel section o'fone or' 'the igniters detached from the engine Fig, Ii is an en'd elevation looking from the 'left of Fig. 3 of thel igniter, showing particularly the contactpoints. Fig. 5 is e. detail vievr of the pawls cimneeted to the movable contact-piece of the ignii'cr and iipon the operatingfoiti' 'oy which said movable oontaet-pieceis opcziied. Fig. 5 is .a detail elevation ofsaid pawls and the bracket on which paw :732 is mounted, taken 'from the side opposite to that from which Fig. 51's waken, Fig. G elioiws a niodiiied eonstru rovidc-a-sim le andcomnactmechanism b 1 P tion of the pawls. Figf 7,' Sheet 1, is a plan view of the com by which the operating-.bar is reciprocated, showing them'eans employed for varying the point of ignition -in each'cyLl 55 indelwith reference 'toA the 'begi'nningof the '1 stroke. Fig. 8 is a 'detail view showing the igniters, cam, pawls oi' catchemand operating-bar of a threecyl'inde'r engine', illustrating particularly the relative arrangement 'of' 6o the pawls'orcatcnes `uponeaid bar `which is preferred for a three-c5711'nderengine.l Fig.

9 is a view similarfto Figf of `the -sa'meparts of a fou r-eylinderen'gine, showing in arrangement of pawls`l or 'oatohes'wliich may be-'em- 65 plcyed forsnciian engine. lEignlOillustrates a modified arrangement; of ythe springsl of the pawls or catchesv on rthe'operatiiig"bar, and Fig. l1 illustrates-o modified arrangement of theoarn and operating-bar;

, A 7 In 'the Vdrawingefl is the-maiw-or crank,

gies thereto," but driven `therefrom by 'geer- Aing having aspeed ratio of -hvoioonm uasillustrated, and extending to the rear-0r cylinder 7 5 end of :the engine, whereit'isconnected by gearing toa traneversefshaft, driven atjthe saine speed ae shaft?, `byl which thevalVe-- gearof the"engineielepel-ated.'k I will not herein specitically describe tlliivalvegear, 8o as any .suitable valve-'gearinaybe employed. 'Flic shaft@ carries -a Step-cam 4, by'whioh t'lieoperating-bar of theiignitini'me'ohaniem v is reciprocated.v 5 is this operating-bal-r.` It

is mounted in suit-able bearings 6v 6, secured 85 to stationary portionsof the enginestructu reand which permit it tol 'reciprocate transversely across the engine.' Iuordel" to avoid possible rotation of `tliisbar,-`wl|`ich 'might' j prevent engagenientfoi'A thefpawls or catches 9o,v by whiehthe severalignitersareloperated, the Aoperating-bar' should preferably vhave'a square or other angular section.- 'lliebal' 5 is' reciprocated by a bell-orankf lever 7, piv oted to a stationary 'pornion of theengine- 95 frame andi provided at one endwitli a frictionroller S, contactingwith the face'of the step-cani 4,'Wnile at the other' 'endit works between collars 9 9 upon-the Operating-baro,

or the cam may work directly against the end roo of the bar 5, as indicated in Fig'. 11.A A spring 10 causes the bell-crank 7 in the construe tion shown in Figs. 2, 8, end 9 and the operating-bar itself inthe construction shown in ened the plugs may be removed by turning them slightly to one side and then pulling them. ouir.' Each plug is provided with two electrical Lcontact pieces or points 13 and 14.

Contnct-piece 111 is movable, being mounted.

upon n rock-shaft 17, which has its bearing in a bushing 18, located within an opening in the plug,r 12, b'ut insulated electrically from th'eplug by blocks 16 16, of niicaor other heat1esisti n g insulating meter-inl. Contact piece 13 is stationary and forme a part of `e. pin 15, passing Athrough snopening `in the plug 12, and also insulated from the piugby blocks 16 16, of mien or other heet-resisting insulating materiel.

Upon the outer end of the rock-shaft 17 there is secured a. pawl 19, n side elevnti'on of which is shown in Fig. 5. This pawl has s hinged end piece 20, designed to he held normally in the position shown in Figf by the spring 2l, but adapted to move toward the left of Fig. 5, so as to permit e. correspendingl pawl or catch on the Operatingbnr 5, which engages with and moves said pawl 19 to the right while the operating-har is moving to the right, to pass lhepnwl 19 without operating it upon the return movement of the operating-bar; but the hinged end piece may he upon the pawl of the operating-har instead, as shown in Fig. 6.

22 is the pawl of the operating-bar which coacts with the puwl 19 of the igniter. It is loosely mounted upon a cylindrical pin 23, carried by a sectional bracket 24, secured to the bar 5. A spiral spring 25 surrounds the pin 23 and is connected at one endto in adjusting-collar 26 and at ,the other end to the pawl 22 and is arranged to resist motion of the pnwl22 to the leftoi Fig. 5. A stop-pin 22, carried by the bracket 24 and indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 5, limits motion of the pewl or catch 2,2 caused by the spring. Another spring 27 surrounds the bushing 18 of the igniter and is attached et one end to an adjusting-collar28 and at the other end' tothe pawl 19. The spring 27 resists motion of the pawl or catch 19 toward the right of Fig. 5 and the left ol' Fig. 4, normally holding the cor\mclpiece 14 out of conteet with the contact-piece 13 and in contact with a stop-pin 29, Fig. 4, preferably formed of insulating material or insulated from the plug 12.

The bracket 'L2-l is insulated from the operating-rod 5 byinsulating material 24 in order to avoid the passage of an electric current through said rod.

lis shown in Figs. 2 and 8, the pawls of the of the cam Je.

ignitere of the two outside cylinders are ar ranged to be' engaged and vib'rated hy the corresponding pawls of the operating-bnr 5 7e when said operating-bar is moved to the right of Fig. 2, while the pawl of theigniter oit' the intermediate cylinder is turned in the-oppor site direction, being :arranged th'be operated by its corresponding pawl or catch on the op 75 ereting-bar 5 when said bar moves to the left of Fig. 2. By operating the igniter of one of the cylinders during the return stroke of the operating-bnr' the use of an operating-cam 4 havingvnnore then two steps is'avoided and 8o the amplitude of movement of the bnr 5 is inode as small as possible.

The two igniters which are operated during the forward or right-hand stroke of the operating-bar 5 arenot operated at the saine time, the pnwl 22 corresponding to the righthand cylinder being so situated on thebnr 5 that it maken contact with its corresponding pawl 19 only when the roller 8 of the bellcrank 7 hnsmonnted the second step 4" of the cam 4, whereas the pnwl 22 which causes the operation of the igniter of theleft-hand cylinder is so placed thatit operates its igniter when theroller 8 has mounted the first step 4' By moving the pawls 22 to one eide or the other, as may be required, up'on the bar 5. the point of ignition in each engine'- cylinder may he varied its desired without eecting the point et which ignition takes place in the other cylinders.

The operation of the igniting mechanism is es follows: supposing the engine to be in operation and vthe shafts 1 and 2 revolving, when the first step 4' of the cam 4 reaches the friction-roller 8 on the bell-crank 7 the operating-ber 5 is moved to the right and the pawl 22 opposite the end of the left-hand cylinder makes contact with the pnwl 19 of IDO the igniter of that cylinder, moving,r it to the right end bringing the contact-points 14 and no 13 oi that igniting device iutocontact, so com pleting a circuit from the electrical generator which supplies current for the engine. As the bar 5 moves onward the pawl 22 slips from under the pnwl 19, which latter is then returned to its normal position by the spring 27, the pnwl 22 heilig also returned toits normal position with respect to -the bar 5 by iis spring 25,A and ihe contnct-lmints 14 and 13 are separated, producing for nn instant a spark, which ignitcs the explosive charge in tho engine-cylinder. When the roller Sencouni'ers the second step 4'" on the cani L1, the rod 5 is moved still farther to the right, and the igniter of the right'haud cylinder 4is operated in a similar incliner. When the time for nn explosion in the ilzrd crimen-mediate cylinder has nearlyv arrived, the (anni 4 permits the spring 10 to pull the rod 5 to the left, nud the igniter ofthe intermediate cylindcr is operated, the pawls 22 ofthe two out/1L side cylinders nt the same time passing their corresponding pewis 19 by pushing aside the hinged sections 2O of said pnwls.

IQO

eeaoev If' the engine have four cylinders, with valve-gear arranged to produce al1-explosion 'every half-revolution' of the crank-shaft of the engine, then the arrangement 'ci igniterpawls shown in Fig. 9gmay be employed, the

ignitersof two of the cylinders being operated 'during thejorward stroke of the bar 5, theotheifigniters being operated successively on the back stroke. The cam e then has two intermediate steps 4', one on each side of the second or highest step 4".

As already stated and as shown 'in Fig. 6, the hinged section 20,'which permits the paivl 22 to pass. the 'pawl 19 duringI the reverse movement of the operating-bar 5, may be om pawl 22 instead of on pawl19. -ln this figure pawls 19 and 22' correspond, respectively, to pawls 19 and 22 of Figs. 3 and 5; but the hinged section 20', corresponding to section? 20 oi' Figs-.3 and l5, is mounted upon pawl 22', asis the spring 2l' of said hinged section. The section 20' is arranged .to swing in the direction opposite to section 20.

The spring of the pawl 22 instead of being mounted as shown in Fig. 3 may be a tensionspring 25', secured to thepawl, which in this case may have tii'eiform of a bell-crank lever,

and to, an extension 24"-ofrbracket 14, arf.- ranged as shown in Fig. 10. The pawl 22 isl free 'to move in either direction against the tension of the spring, so that it is not neces` sary that the pavvl 19 should have a hinged Ysection"2 0"as in thc construction shown in Figs., 5 and 6. -f

`takes piace in the `several cylinders.

An important feature of my invention is the ineansemployed for varying the speed oi the engine, as may be desired."l This is done by varying the point at which ignition takes place in A'each cylinder with reference to the beginning of the stroke in that cylinder. As is indicated in dotted lilies in Fig. 7, the shaft 2 at that point where the cani d is mounted is. provided with a 'spiral keyway. ,A pin se- 'curedl to the cam land fitting into this keyway constitutes the driving connection hetween the shaft and cam. The cam has a hub 30, in which is agroove 3l, (shown in Fig. 1,) and a pivoted lever 32, havingapin fitting into said groove, serves asa means for shifting the Vcam laterally along the shaft 2, thereby varying its'angular position on said shaft,- and so varying the point atwhich'ignition 'ihe various igniting devices may be removed from their respective cylinders for the Apurpose ci cleaning the contactpoints by loosening the bolts which hold the plugs 12 in their holes in the walls of the eng-inecylinders and then turning said pings slightly and pulling them out.

Having thus completely described my invention, what I cla-ini, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is.--Y

l. In an igniting mechanism foi'niulti-i'ilecylinder explosive-engines, the combination, witira reciprocating operating member, and

a pluralityof ig'niters arranged to be operated by said operating member duringeach motion thereof in one and the same direction,

of coacting pawls or catches on the several igniters and on the operating member, the

catches on the operating'member being'spaced diierently from the catches on the igniters, and a step-cam for reciprocating the operat-I ing member. l

ln an igniting mechanism for multiplecylinder eXplosive-engines, the combination, with a reciprocating operating member, of a? plurality of igniters, andA coactingr pawls -0r catches on the operating member and on the 8o' igniters,- arranged to permit the pawls on the operating member to pass bythe corresponding pawls of the igniters, after operating said igniters, one of the pawls of each pair being permit the passage cf its companion pawl without operating the igniter during the return movement of the operating membera the pawls' on the operating member being spaced 1provided with a yielding member adapted to 85 I I differently from the pawls on the ign'iters, 9o

whereby the igniters are operated successively as the operating member reciprocat'es.

37111 an igniting mechanism for multiplecylinder. engines, the combination, with ,a

plurality of igniting devices, of a reciprocatl ing operating member, and coacting pawls or catches on the several igniting devices and on the operating member, the catches on the operating member being spaced diierently from the catches on the iguitingdevices, and the catches corresponding to one of the iguiting devices being reversed so that said igniting device is operated on the return movement of the operating member, and a step-cam for reciprocatig said operating member.

IOO

4. In an igniting mechanism, the combination, with an igniting device, of a reciprocat-` ing operating member, and coacting pawls or catches on the igniting device and operating member by which said igniting device is operated as the operating member reciprocates, the pawl or catch on .t'he reciprocating operating member beinfgjnsnlated from the main' portion of the engine.

5. In an igniting mechanism, the combination, with an igniting device Paving insulated contact-pieces,one ofwhich is movably mount-- ed, of a reciprocating operating member, and

. enacting paivls or catches on the movable contact-piece and on the reciprocating operating member, by which said movable contact-piece is operated as 'the operating member reciprocates, the pawl or catch on. said operating member being insulated from the main portionef the engine.

In testimony whereof- I aiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

Louis n. sMYsER.

Witnesses: Y l r F; E. CANDA, ll. M. MARBLE.

iro 

